Polishing apparatus



May 16, 1944; STUA T, 5 2,349,207

POLISHING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 19, 1940 JOSEPH STUART 11 INVENTOR.

BY MAQJMMM QM I Patented May 16, 1944 UNITED STATES raTENT/oFFwPOLISHING APPARATUS Joseph Stuart, II, Wilmington, Del., assignor toHercules Powder Company, Wilmington, DeL, a

corporation of Delaware Application December 19, 1949, Serial No.370,891

8 Claims.

stances, etc., in order to obtain special physical 7 properties.

Wire insulated and impregnated as above may be used per se but in orderto aid in handling and to improveappearances this wire may be polished.The known polishers usually include a revolving polishing head which hasan adjustable chuck face that may be tightened upon the wire in order topolish the wire as it is pulled therethrough. This type polisher doesnot give high rates of productionas there is a tendency for the wire tobreak and breakage requires continual rethreading of the machine. Thereis always a break in the wire whenever a knot or splice goes into themachine. Thus, the machine requires constant attention.

It is the object of thisinvention to provide an improved polishingdevice.

A further object of this invention is to provide a polisher which has nomoving parts.

A further object of this invention is to provide a polisher which willallow the passage of knots and splices.

A further object of this invention is to pro-' vide a polisher whichwill have a high capacity of production.

A still further object of this invention is to 40 Other and furtherobjects will become apparprovide an improved method of polishing wire.

ent hereinafter upon .an understanding of the description and drawingabout to be presented.

The objects of this invention are accomplished by a polishing devicehaving no moving parts but which is so constructed as to effectpolishing of impregnated wire upon passage by drawing of the wiretherethrough. The device includes a pair of supporting membersinterconnected with each other and which have mounted upon each member aplurality of polishing members aligned in a staggered and overlappingmanner which. will exert upon the wire at intervals on opposite sidesthereof sufficient pressure to effect polishing.

Having now indicated in a general Way the construction and purpose ofthis invention,-'there follows a more detailed description thereof withreference to the accompanying drawing in" which:

Fig. 1 represents an through. a

Fig. 2 represents a sectional View along line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and a Fig.3 represents a prospective view of the.

polishing end of a polishing member.-

Referring now to the figures and more par ticularly to Fig. l, thepolishing deviceof this invention includes an upper supporting member land a lower supporting member 2 intercom-- nected by adjustable meansshown in the form' of bolts 4. Attached to the supporting member I is aplurality of polishing members 5'by means of bolts 6 which are adaptedto provide positive and fixed clamping of the'members 5 to thesupporting member 1. Means 6 may if desirable be supplemented by anadditional screw or bolt or by a recess or projection to insurepositivef er is also a plurality of polishing members I, simi,

clamping of the polishing members 5.

lar to members 5, attached to supporting member 2 by for example bolts9, similar tobolts fi.

The polishing members 5 and l are so 31";

.ranged that their polishing faces are approxi -z, mately aligned butstaggered and overlapped j The polishin faces of members 5 and 1 containa concavity) with relation one with another.

(Fig. 3) or groovethrough which an electrical conductor ll passes. Theconductor llisdrawn; through the staggered overlapping polishing,members by any convenient means, such as for example, a gear driven reelhaving a traversing. screw to cause even winding of the polished wirethereon. The speed of the take-ofi reel may be altered to effect themost eificient polishing.

The overlapping of the polishing heads may be varied when various gaugewire is being polished and also if desirable the size of the polishing--grooves may be altered to accommodate Various gauge wire or variousthickness of insulation.

Likewise, the number of polishing members at:

tached to each supporting member 5 may be varied to effect moreefficient polishing action.

Polishing of impregnated wire is best accomplished by the device of thisinvention by start ing with a wire having a slight excess of saturant onthe surface thereof and drawing this wire. through the device undertension. The overlap-" ping arrangement of the polishing members cre-"elevation view of the de-' vice with an electrical conductor passingthere-' ates a pressure on each side of the wire and polishes thesaturant to a smooth and glossy finish. The gloss obtained depends uponthe saturant used but a saturant containing a high percentage ofparafiin wax will give a very desirable polish. Additions to thesaturant of waxes such as carnauba, montan and the like aids high gloss.

In operating the polishing device, the staggered efiect must not be tooclose together and the overlapping should not offer too high resistanceto pulling of the wire through the polishing heads as each item willtend to cause breakage whenever a knot passes and will cause abrasion ofthe insulation.

Since the amount of wax left on the wire is in part determined by thecontact of the polishing head and grooves, it is advantageous anddesirable to regulate the off-line position of the heads so that thedesired results are obtained.

Further, the polishing heads are overlapped slightly so that any excessimpregnation composition which is removed depends upon the friction ofthe wire against the heads, however, too much friction will tend to givea rough surface so that the heads are adjusted to give desired results.For example, the first pair of heads may overlap considerably whilesubsequent heads are not overlapped as much thereby allowing a lightpressure to be exerted upon the wire when it passes the last pair ofpolishing heads which will give an exceptionally high polish.

It will be understood that the polishing device of this invention may beused for polishin Wire impregnated and stored prior to polishing or maybe positioned so that the wire coming from a impregnation step is passedtherethrough and polished. Polishing to high smoothness and glossrequires the saturants on the wire to be hard, therefore, if wire directfrom the impregnation step is to be used it must be passed through acooling device for best results.

The simplicity of operation and ease of adjustment of the polishingdevice of this invention which results in a higher production rate overprior art machines is realized in part by the quick manner in which thewire H is moved into polishingposition. The wire II which may besupplied from any suitable source as, for example, a reel, not shown,may be moved into polishing position between the polishing elements 6and 1 from one side thereof and then onto a suitable take-up reel notshown. It is noted that the threading operation may be accomplished withboth ends of the wire in position.

The advantages of the polishing device of this invention is in thesimplicity of operation, ease of adjustment, lack of breakage of thewire passing therethrough, high production rate and adaptability tovarious types of wires. The polished wires produced by this device findspecial use in the blasting cap industry, since the leg wires thereofmust be smooth to facilitate handling and also should provide anappearance that is attractive. Polished wires give both of theseproperties.

It will be understood that the details and examples hereinbefore setforth are illustrative only and that the invention as broadly describedand claimed is in no way limited thereby,

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the character described which includes in combination awire polisher comprising a pair of substantially parallel supportingmembers, means interconnecting said members,

a plurality of polishing members adjustably secured to one of saidsupporting members, and a plurality of polishing members adjustablysecured to the other said supporting member in staggered and overlappedrelation to the polishing members on said first parallel member, wherebya wire passed therebetween has exerted thereon a polishing pressure.

2. A device of the character described which includes in combination awire polisher comprising a pair of substantially parallel supportingmembers, means interconnecting said members, a plurality of polishingmembers adjustably secured to one of said supporting members, and aplurality of polishing members adjustably secured to the other saidsupporting member in staggered and overlapped relation to the polishingmembers on said first parallel member, said polishing members having aconcavity for receiving, guiding, and polishing a wire passedtherebetween, whereby said wire has exerted thereon a polishingpressure.

3. A device for producing polished leg wires adaptable for electricblasting caps which includes in combination a pair of substantiallyparallel supporting members joined by vertically adjustable means, twopolishing members rigidly at-' tached in space relationship with eachother on one of said pairs of supporting members and a polishing memberrigidly attached to the other said supporting member and extending intothe space provided between the two polishing members attached to saidfirst supporting member to give an overlapping relationship between thepolishing members, whereby a polishing action will result upon passageof a Wire under and over said polishing members.

4. A device for producing polished leg wires adaptable for electricblasting caps which includes in combination a pair of substantiallyparallel supporting members joined by vertically adjustable meansdisposed in a plane including said members, two polishing members havinga concavity adaptable for receiving a wire to be polished rigidlyattached in space relationship with each other on one of said pairs ofsupporting members and a polishing member having a concavity adaptablefor receiving a wire to be polished rigidly attached to the other saidsupporting member and extending into the space provided between the twopolishing members attached to said first supporting member to give anoverlapping relationship between the polishing members, whereby apolishing action will result upon passage of a wire under and over saidpolishing members.

5. A device of the character described which includes in combination awire polisher comprising a pair of substantially parallel supportingmembers, means adjustably interconnecting said members, a plurality ofpolishing members adjustably secured to one of said supporting members,and a plurality of polishing members adjustably secured to the othersaid supporting member in staggered and overlapped relation to thepolishing members on the first said parallel member, whereby a wirepassed therebetween has exerted thereon a polishing pressure.

6. A device for producing polished leg wires adaptable for electricblasting caps which includes in combination a pair of substantiallyparallel supporting members joined by adjustable means disposed in aplane including said members, a plurality of polishing members attachedin space relationship with each other on one of said pairs of supportingmembers, and at least one polishing member attached to the other saidsupporting member and extending into the space provided between two ofthe said plurality of polishing members attached to the first mentionedsupporting member to given an overlapping relationship between thepolishing members, whereby a polishing action will result upon passageof a wire under and over said polishing members.

7. A wire polishing device comprising a pair of stationary supportmembers, means interconnecting said members and disposed in a planeincluding said members, a plurality of polishing elements secured to oneof said support members, and a plurality of polishing elements securedto the other of said support members in staggered and over-lappedrelation to the polish ing elements on said first support member,whereby a wire passed between said polishing elements has exertedthereon a polishing pressure.

8. A wire polishing device comprising a pair of stationary supportmembers, adjustable means interconnecting said members and disposed in aplane including said members, a plurality of polishing elements securedto one of said support members, and a plurality of polishing elementssecured to the other of said support members in staggered relation tothe polishing elements on said first support member, whereby a wire maybe moved into polishing position laterally relative to said plane.

JOSEPH STUART, II.

